Although Hebrew grammar, together with Hebrew lexicography—the two constituting Hebrew philology, and aiming at the systematic investigation and presentation of Biblical Hebrew—originated as an auxiliary science to Bible exegesis, and was studied as such, it soon acquired an independent character that found expression in important literary works. It may be considered as the only science originated by the Jewish intellect of the Middle Ages. Cultivated by Jews alone for centuries, it was brought by them to a high degree of perfection. The historic task of the Jewish people—to preserve the sacred literature that they themselves had originated, and to assure to it a correct interpretation—is perhaps nowhere else seen so clearly as in the fact that Hebrew philology is a product of the Jewish mind. The stimulus for the study of Hebrew philology was, it is, true, strengthened by external influence, namely, the example furnished by Arabic philology, which continued to influence materially the character of the Hebrew science; and it was the Arabic model which, being that of a kindred language, directed the development of Hebrew philology into the right path and led it to permanent results. But, notwithstanding this foreign stimulus, Hebrew philology retained its independence and its own character, to which its connection with the Masorah, the peculiar collection of old traditions regarding the spelling and pronunciation of the Biblical text, contributed not a little.

The term applied to Hebrew grammar as a scientific study is "diḳduḳ." In the tannaitic tradition this word, the "nomen actionis" of the verb V06p067001.jpg (from the root V06p067002.jpg), means the details of religious law as found by careful investigation of the Biblical text; for example: "diḳduḳ eḥad" (Sanh. 99a); "diḳduḳe Torah" (Suk. 28a); "diḳduḳe ha-parashah" (Sifra, Lev. xviii. 5, xx. 8); "diḳduḳe miẓwot" (Ḥul. 4a). On "diḳduḳe soferim" see Bacher, "Die Aelteste Terminologie der Jüdischen Bibelexegese," p. 24. The verb V06p067003.jpg was also used to designate the exact and correct pronunciation of the text of the Bible (see Ber. ii. 3; Yer. Ber. 4d. 42), corresponding to the Aramaic "dayyeḳ lishana" ('Er. 53b); and it was the latter meaning ofthe word which gave rise to its subsequent use as the term for the grammatical investigation of Hebrew, the language of the Bible.

It is possible that the term "diḳduḳ," in the sense of the careful reading of the Bible text, with all the subtleties which were handed down concerning it, was in use among the Masorites and the teachers of the Bible at a very early period. Later, when, under the influence of Arabic grammar, Hebrew grammar grew out of the Masoretic rules for reading, this expression offered itself as a designation for the new science. Although it is not proved that Saadia Gaon knew the word, it may be assumed that he did; for in the century after him "diḳduḳ" was the generally accepted term for "grammar," both among the Karaites and among the Rabbinites. Japheth b. Ali, the great Karaite exegete, calls grammarians "ahl aldiḳduḳ" (the people of the diḳduḳ), and grammar, "diḳduḳ" (see introduction to Bargès' edition of Japheth b. Ali's Commentary on Canticles, p.xvi.). A contemporary of Japheth, Abu Ya'ḳub Joseph b. Noah, wrote a grammar entitled "Al-Diḳduḳ" (see "R. E. J." xxx. 251; on the date of the author see "J. Q. R." viii. 699, ix. 439; "R. E. J." xxxiii. 215). The Hebrew expression is therefore used also in Arabic texts as a fixed term. Abu al-Faraj Harun, the "grammarian of Jerusalem," as he is known to Abraham ibn Ezra, speaks of the "method of the language and of the diḳduḳ" ("ṭariḳat al-lughah wal-diḳduḳ"; "R. E. J." xxx. 254). In a geonic responsum, perhaps by Sherira or his son Hai ("Responsen der Gaonen," pp. 200, 376), the expression "min ha-diḳduḳ" (from the grammatical side) is used in a grammatical explanation.

Abu al-Walid Merwan ibn Janaḥ calls the science of grammar "'ilm al-diḳduḳ" ("Luma'," p. 320, line 14 = " Riḳmah," p. 195, line 32), and a large work consisting of a grammar and a dictionary he calls in Arabic "Kitab al-Tanḳiṭ," remarking that the Arabian "tanḳiṭ" means the same as the Hebrew "diḳduḳ," that is, "examination" and "investigation" ("Luma'," p. 17, line 14 = "Riḳmah," p. xiv. line 8; comp. "Kitab al-Uṣul," 13, 8). For the use of the word "diḳduḳ" in Spain before the time of Abu al-Walid, see the quotations from Menahem b. Saruḳ, Dunash ben Labraṭ, and their pupils, in Bacher, "Die Grammatische Terminologie des Ḥajjug," p. 12; idem, "Leben und Werke des Abulwalid," etc., p. 34; idem, "Die Anfänge der Hebräischen Grammatik," p. 114. Moses ibn Gikatilla, in the first line of his translation of Ḥayyuj's work, speaks of "diḳduḳ lashon Yehudit." Abraham ibn Ezra prefers the full form "diḳduḳ ha-lashon" (see Bacher, "Abraham ibn Ezra als Grammatiker," p. 40). In his list of the masters of Hebrew philology in the introduction to the "Moznayim" he calls works on grammar "sifre ha-diḳduḳ." His commentary to the Pentateuch is "bound in the fetters of the diḳduḳ," that is, it is based throughout on grammatical explanations. One of his text-books on grammar he calls "Yesod Diḳduḳ" (Basis of Grammar; see "Abraham ibn Ezra als Grammatiker," pp. 10 et seq.). Ibn Ezra's Karaite contemporary, Judah Hadassi, calls works on grammar "sifre ha-diḳduḳim" ("Monatsschrift," xl. 69).

Mention may also be made of Judah ibn Tibbon's use of the word "diḳduḳ" in his translation of Abu al-Walid's dictionary (see the index in Bacher's edition of the "Sefer ha-Shorashim," p. 562). Joseph Ḳimḥi, in the introduction to his Hebrew grammar, mentions both the Latin and the Arabic names of the science of grammar ("grammatica," "al-naḥw"), but not the Hebrew term "diḳduḳ." David Ḳimḥi gave to the first part of his "Miklol" the title "Ḥeleḳ ha-Diḳduḳ," and designated the three sections of this part "Diḳduḳ ha-Pe'alim"; "Diḳduḳ ha-Shemot"; and "Diḳduḳ ha-Millim" (Grammar of the Verbs; Grammar of the Nouns; Grammar of the Particles). For the use of the word in titles of the works of Hebrew grammarians, see Benjacob," Oẓar ha-Sefarim," pp. 111 et seq. On V06p068001.jpg as a synonym for V06p068002.jpg see Zunz, "Z. G." p. 201; Steinschneider, "Jewish Literature," p. 327.

The Masorah was the cradle proper of Hebrew grammar. The Masorites, as subsequently the grammarians, had to differentiate between the several forms of the words found in the Biblical text, to unite the similar ones into groups, to register the peculiarities of the text, and to formulate rules for spelling and reading. But their work shows no traces of grammatical categories, nor of any examination of the forms of the language as such. The care that they bestowed upon the faithful preservation of the Biblical text drew their attention to the most delicate shades of pronunciation, for the preservation of which they finally introduced punctuation; but they were interested only in the correct reading of the traditional orthography of the text, and did not intend to investigate the language and its laws. The Masorah, however, paved the way for grammar; Masoretic vocalization and the invention of the various signs enabled the grammarians to determine the laws of Hebrew phonetics and etymology. The Masorah, which flourished even after the science of grammar came into existence, was actually considered by the grammarians as a necessary foundation and, in a way, a constituent part of grammar; and the later representatives of the Masorah, the so called "naḳdanim," occupied themselves with grammar also.

The old Jewish Bible exegesis, the Midrash, likewise, did not consciously deal with Hebrew grammar. The voluminous traditional literature, through which is known the Biblical exposition of the Tannaim and the Amoraim, furnishes only a small number of very general designations of linguistic categories, which were incorporated later into the grammatical terminology. The details of that exegesis, from which it has been assumed that its authors were acquainted with grammar, show merely that they were thoroughly acquainted with the language and that they closely studied its idioms; but neither the Tannaim nor the Amoraim made any attempt to study the language as such, or to determine the principles of word-formation. The Midrash and the Masorah—those two great branches of Bible study which flourished within Judaism during the long period in which the traditional literature originated—kept the knowledge of the Biblical language alive, and preserved with minute care the text of the Bible; but it remained for a subsequent age to create, by a systematic treatment of the Biblical language, a new basis for Biblical study.

Long before Hebrew had become a subject of grammatical study there appeared what may be regarded as the earliest products within Judaism of reflection on the elements of the language; namely, the classification of the consonants (letters), which is found as part of the peculiar cosmogony of the "Sefer Yeẓirah," and the classification of the vowels, as seen in the Masoretic system of punctuation. Both classifications passed into the later grammar, that of the vowels, which fixed the vowel-marks, being the most important legacy that the Masorites bequeathed to the grammarians. Ben Asher, the great Masorite of Tiberias, who formulated the Masoretic notes to the Bible text and laid down general rules, dealt in particular with the consonants and vowels; but in his work, "Diḳduḳe ha-Ṭe'amim," the theory of forms is laid down in a few sentences that already show the influence of Arabic grammar. In Ben Asher Hebrew grammar appears, as it were, in its shell, a witness to the fact that grammar proceeded from the Masorah.

Ben Asher's contemporary, the gaon Saadia (d. 942), transformed Hebrew grammar into a science independent of the Masorah. He wrote his "Kitabal-Lughah" (Book of the Language) in Arabic and under the influence of Arabic philology, for the purpose of "explaining the grammatical inflection ["i'rab"] of the language of the Hebrews." This work, no longer extant consisted of twelve parts, the substance of which can be largely gathered from references in Saadia's own works, and especially from those of his pupil, Dunash ben Labraṭ. Saadia made contributions to grammar in his other writings also, especially in his commentary to the "Sefer Yeẓirah" and in the introduction to "Agron," his first philological work. Saadia's division of the letters into root and functional letters is of primary importance, and was adopted by all his successors: it is the fundamental principle of the theory of word-formation, leading, on the one hand, to a knowledge of the root as the essential and permanent part of the word form, and, on the other, to the exact determination of the grammatical functions of the other elements thereof. One of the twelve books of Saadia's work dealt with the inflections of the verb, giving a systematic review of the forms that may be produced by inflection and affixion from the several root-words. These are the first paradigms in Hebrew grammar, and Saadia used as the paradigm-word the verb V06p069001.jpg. Saadia also dealt in his work with the anomalies of grammar, to which much attention was devoted by later grammarians.

It is impossible, since all data are lacking, to determine at present how much Karaite scholars contributed to the beginnings of Hebrew grammar. Even before the time of Saadia there may have been Karaites who treated Hebrew from a grammatical point of view in the manner of Arabic philology; but so far no predecessors of Saadia in this field have been discovered. The first Karaite to whom the title of "grammarian" ("medaḳdeḳ") is given is Abu Ya'ḳub Joseph ibn Baḥtawi, who must have been a younger contemporary of Saadia and identical with Abu Ya'ḳub Joseph ibn Nuḥ (Noah). He wrote a Hebrew grammar in Arabic under the title "Al-Diḳduḳ" ("R. E. J." xxx. 257; "J. Q. R." viii. 698 et seq., ix. 438 et seq.). His pupil, Sa'id Shiran, wrote a grammatical work under the same title as Saadia's "Kitab al-Lughah" ("J. Q. R." viii. 698). Abu al-Faraj Harun was another pupil of Ibn Nuḥ (sec "J. Q. R." ix. 439), whose work, "Al-Mushtamil " (That Which Comprehends), finished in 1026, deals with several divisions of grammar. This Karaite linguist was included as "grammarian of Jerusalem" in the list of the earliest Hebrew grammarians made by Abraham ibn Ezra, but at the wrong place and without being designated as a Karaite ("R. E. J." xxx. 232-256). All the Karaite grammarians evidence Saadia's influence, even those who attack him; and the same remark applies to the Karaite exegetes of the tenth and eleventh centuries who touch upon grammar in their Bible exegesis, as well as to the greatest lexicographer of the Karaites, David b. Abraham of Fez, whose "Agron," like all works of this kind, contains much grammatical material.

The works of the Karaites did not influence the subsequent development of Hebrew grammar. This was carried further, some decades after Saadia's death, in Arabic Spain, where the intellectual efflorescence of Judaism stimulated primarily grammatical studies. These studies were especially promoted by two men of African origin who lived in Spain: Dunash ben Labraṭ and Judah b. David Ḥayyuj. In North Africa Judah ibn Ḳuraish of Tahort, an elder contemporary of Saadia, had appeared as early as the beginning of the tenth century. He emphasized, even more than Saadia, the comparative study of the kindred Semitic languages; in his work dealing with the comparison of Biblical Hebrew with the Neo-Hebrew of the Mishnah, Aramaic, and Arabic, he treats of the relation between the grammatical forms of Hebrew and Arabic. Dunash b. Tamim, a pupil of the philosopher and physician, Isaac Israeli of Kairwan, follows along the same lines. Dunash ben Labraṭ of Fez, mentioned above, made a specialty of the philological examination of the Bible text. He exerted an extraordinary influence on the shaping of the Hebrew literature of the Middle Ages by introducing Arabic meters into Hebrew poetry; and he occupies a prominent place in the history of Hebrew grammar, especially through his criticism of Menahem b. Saruḳ's lexicon.

Menahem b. Saruḳ, the first to employ Hebrew itself in treating Hebrew philology (his predecessors having written in Arabic), offers only a few notes that may be called grammatical in his lexicon ("Maḥberet"). He is primarily occupied with determining the roots of all the words contained in the Bible, carrying to the extreme the differentiation, introduced by Saadia, between the radical and the other parts of a word. All other grammatical material appears in chaotic juxtaposition, without a trace of any systematic conception of the forms of the language and their mutations, although he himself constantly refers to the fixed laws of the language and to the regularity of its various forms. Dunash's criticism of Menahem's lexicon, also in Hebrew and partly in metrical form, marks a decided advance in the knowledge of roots as well as in the more strict separation of the root-forms. Fundamentally important is especially the use of the term "mishḳal" (weight), which was destined to take a prominent place in Hebrew grammar, Dunash designating by it the grammatical model, either of the verb or the noun. In the introduction to his criticism he drew up a plan which he considered should have been followed in a work like Menahem's lexicon, and in which grammatical categories and themes stand in the foreground as a table of contents for a Hebrew grammar. In another, incomplete, work Dunash undertook to criticize Saadia's writings, especially from a grammatical point of view. In this work the nature of the weak vowel-roots is first pointed out, though it was left for a pupil of Menahem to develop this point more fully.

Dunash's criticism of Menahem gave occasion for a controversy between the latter's pupils and a pupil of Dunash. Although the two polemical treatises expressing the views of the respective parties did not materially extend grammatical knowledge beyond the point reached by Menahem and Dunash,they are highly important as evidences of unusual intellectual activity and interest in grammatical problems. The polemical treatise of Menahem's three pupils is especially remarkable from the fact that one of them, Judah b. David, was none other than Dunash's countryman Judah ben David (Abu Zechariah Yaḥya) Ḥayyuj, who finally, after the beginnings which have been described in the foregoing paragraphs, placed Hebrew grammar on a firm, permanent basis. In his two works discussing the weak and the double verb-roots Ḥayyuj at once put an end to all arbitrariness and chaos in dealing with linguistic phenomena. He applied to these roots the law of triliteralness, methodically carried out the laws of vowel-mutation, and separated the grammatical forms from one another. Creating in this way a scientific grammar of the most important and most difficult part of the Hebrew language, he became the creator of scientific Hebrew grammar as a whole, which his disciples and successors in Spain in the eleventh century developed zealously and with brilliant success. In his small work entitled "Tanḳiṭ" (Punctuation = "Niḳḳud") Ḥayyuj made some contributions to the grammar of the noun, and to the rules on vowels and accent. Ḥayyuj's works are written in Arabic, and Hebrew grammars continued to be written in that language in Spain. The influence of Arabic grammar became evident also in the terminology borrowed from it.

According to the well-founded assertion of the old historian Abraham ibn Daud, Abu al-Walid Merwan ibn Janaḥ (R. Jonah) completed the work begun by Ḥayyuj. His first book, "Al-Mustalḥaḳ," was a criticism and supplement to Ḥayyuj's two main works. His own chief work he named "Al-Tanḳiṭ" (minute examination or investigation), the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew word "diḳ-duḳ"; but it is better known under the separate designations of its two parts, lexical and grammatical respectively. The latter is called "Al-Luma'" (in the Hebrew translation, "Riḳmah"), meaning the book of the "variegated flower-beds," because, in view of their diversified contents, the sections resemble such beds. In this standard book Abu al-Walid treats of all the branches of grammar proper, and he furnishes valuable contributions to syntax, rhetoric, and Biblical hermeneutics. In smaller preceding works, also, he touched on some questions of grammar. In the polemical work "Al-Tashwir," which has unfortunately been lost, he defended himself against the attacks of Samuel ibn Nagdela, the Nagid, in the so-called "Circular Letter of the Friends" ("Rasa'il al-Rifaḳ"). As Abu al-Walid said himself, he had occasion in this book "to touch upon many linguistic laws and to elucidate many principles of Hebrew grammar."

Samuel ibn Nagdela, the statesman and scholar, and a pupil of Ḥayyuj, wrote, in addition to the above-mentioned polemical treatises, other grammatical works, twenty in all, which, under the comprehensive name "Kitab al-Istighna'" (Hebr. "Sefer ha-'Osher"), were at one time among the standard works on Hebrew philology, but were lost at an early date. The zeal with which grammar was studied at the time of Samuel and his great antagonists in Spain is evident from the didactic poem, written in the form of an acrostic "ḳaṣidah," and entitled "'Anaḳ," which Solomon ibn Gabirol devoted to this science. A century later another great poet and thinker, Judah ha-Levi, devoted it portion of his "Cuzari" to phonetics and the grammatical structure of Hebrew. From the middle of the eleventh to the first half of the twelfth century there were a number of philologists among the leading Jews of Spain, who continued along the lines laid down by Ḥayyuj and Abu al-Walid, treating larger or smaller portions of the grammar in independent works. The most important grammarian among these immediate successors of Abu al-Walid was Moses ibn Gikatilla (Chiquitilla), called also Moses ha-Kohen, who wrote a book on grammatical gender, and translated Ḥayyuj's writings for the first time into Hebrew, adding comments and notes. His literary opponent, Judah ibn Bal'am, wrote, in addition to lexical works, a book on the Masoretic rules of vowels and accents. Isaac ibn Yashush of Toledo, known for his daring exegesis, wrote a book on the inflections; David ibn Hagar, rabbi at Granada, one on the vowels; and Levi ibn al-Tabban of Saragossa, a grammatical work under the title "Al-Miftaḥ," while Ibn Barun, his pupil, pointed out the grammatical relation between Hebrew and Arabic in his "Kitab al-Muwazanah," on the relation between the two languages—the most important monograph on this subject, part of which has been preserved. Another Spanish grammarian of the first half of the twelfth century is Abraham ibn Kamnial of Saragossa.

As the grammatical works of the Spanish philologists were written in Arabic, they could exert no influence in countries speaking a different language. Hence Menahem and Dunash remained the grammatical authorities in northern France, where in the second half of the eleventh and in the first half of the twelfth century Bible exegesis became an independent science dealing with the literal sense of the text. The same holds good for Italy, where Menahem b. Solomon also treated grammar in his "Eben Boḥan," a manual for the study of the Bible, completed in 1143. Abraham ibn Ezra, the genial and many-sided writer, was the first to carry the grammatical knowledge that had been perfected in Spain to the other European countries that offered him, refuge between 1140 and 1167; namely, Italy, southern and northern France, and England. He offered full and interesting information, in pure Hebrew diction, not only in his exegetical works, in which the grammatical comments at times become entire treatises, but also in special grammatical works. The most popular of these are "Moznayim," written about 1140 at Rome, where he translated Ḥayyuj's works; and "Sefer Ẓaḥot," a work on linguistic "purity" or "correctness," written in 1145 at Mantua. His other grammatical works are: "Yesod Diḳduḳ" (c. 1145); "Safah Berurah," written in southern France; "Yesod Mispar"; the "Sefer ha-Shem," in part grammatical; and "Sefat Yeter," a defense of Saadia against Dunash. Ibn Ezra's grammaticalworks, the first of this kind written in Hebrew, although based for the greater part on his Arabic sources, bear the stamp of his original mind. They also have the merit of presenting the essentials of grammar within a small compass and in an interesting way.

Next to Ibn Ezra's works, Joseph Ḳimḥi's grammar (c. 1150) is the first exposition of Hebrew grammar in Hebrew. His "Sefer Zikkaron" surpasses Ibn Ezra's works in the methodical clearness of the presentation and in the even treatment of the whole material, and was the first real manual of Hebrew grammar. It marked an epoch by introducing the division of vowels into five long and five short ones, a division derived by Ḳimḥi from Latin grammar, which he mentions. This new vowel system, which it is difficult to reconcile with the old vowel system of the Masorah, came to be accepted in Hebrew grammar, especially through the manuals of Ḳimḥi's two sons. The elder, Moses Ḳimḥh wrote the "Mahalak," a manual very well adapted to didactic purposes; it was the first condensed text-book of Hebrew grammar, giving the most essential rules and definitions, and containing in addition only paradigms. This text-book subsequently took an important place in the Hebrew studies of non-Jews in the sixteenth century. It may be noted that Moses Ḳimḥi introduced as model form the verb V06p071001.jpg, which was used for the paradigms of the strong verb down to recent times (Joseph Ḳimḥi, following Ibn Ezra, had used V06p071002.jpg for this purpose). Moses Ḳimḥi wrote also another grammatical text-book, "Sekel Ṭob," which has recently come to light again after having been lost for a long period ("R. E. J." xxviii., xxx.). More important than the text-books of his father and brother was the "Miklol" of David Ḳimḥi. As in the case of Abu al-Walid's chief work, this contained a lexicon in addition to the grammar, the latter forming the first part of the work, and being subsequently designated separately by the title of the whole work. David took the material for his grammar chiefly from Ḥayyuj and Abu al-Walid; but he arranged it independently, and worked it over with scholarly insight, adopting the paradigmatic method of his brother, and giving evidence throughout of the gift of teaching which he had inherited from his father. David Ḳimḥi's Hebrew grammar became in the following centuries the source from which the results of the classic Jewish philology of the Middle Ages were drawn, the works of the founders of this science having been forgotten. It is characteristic that the author of the latest historico-critical work on the Hebrew language, Ed. König, draws solely upon Ḳimḥi's grammar, although its sources, Ḥayyuj and Abu al-Walid, have long since become accessible in the Arabic originals and in the Hebrew translations.

Contemporaneously with the Ḳimḥis, other scholars continued Ibn Ezra's work, providing aids in Hebrew for the study of Hebrew grammar. Solomon ibn Parḥon (1160) prefaced his lexicon by a grammatical summary; Judah ibn Tibbon translated Abu al-Walid's chief work (1171); Isaac ha-Levi, otherwise unknown, wrote a grammatical text-book under the title "Sefer ha-Maḳor"; and Moses b. Isaac, in England, prefixed to his lexicon "Shoham" a grammar entitled "Leshon Limmudim." Moses' teacher was Moses b. Yom-Ṭob of London, called also Moses ha-Naḳdan, who wrote "Sefer ha-Niḳḳud," on punctuation, and notes to Joseph Ḳimḥi's grammar. The interest in grammatical studies which arose in northern France is evident in the work of the greatest Talmudist of his time, Jacob b. Meïr Tam, a grandson of Rashi, who defended Menahem against Dunash, at the same time presenting a complete theory of the classification of root-words. His "Hakra'ot" is attacked by Joseph Ḳimḥi from a more advanced scientific standpoint in his "Ha-Galui." The East produced no great grammarians in the twelfth century, though there has been preserved a grammar by the "Babylonian grammarian" Abraham (ha-Babli), which was quoted as early as Ibn Ezra. The Karaite Judah Hadassi of Constantinople incorporated rules of grammar in his encyclopedic work "Eshkol ha-Kofer" (c. 1148), which he took without acknowledgment from Ibn Ezra's "Moznayim" ("Monatsschrift," 1896, xl. 68 et seq.). The grammar of another Karaite author of Constantinople may be mentioned here, namely, that of Aaron b. Joseph (end of thirteenth century) entitled "Kelil Yofi," published at Constantinople in 1581—the only Hebrew grammar by a Karaite that has been printed.

With the thirteenth century begins for Hebrew grammar the epoch of the Epigoni, whose works but rarely evince any independence. Judah al-Ḥarizi wrote a grammar, of which only the title, "Ha-Mebo li-Leshon ha-Ḳodesh," is known. An anonymous grammatical work, "Petaḥ Debarai," called after the initial words of Ps. cxix. 130, was written about the middle of the thirteenth century by a Spanish scholar, whose name was probably David. This well-written grammar shows the influence of the valuable text-book of David Ḳimḥi, to whom the work has been erroneously ascribed. The thirteenth century also produced another anonymous grammar (edited by Poznanski in 1894; see "Monatsschrift," xxxviii. 335.). Jacob b. Eleazar of Toledo, who lived at the beginning of this century, wrote "Al-Kamil," which includes a grammar and a lexicon; it is now known only from quotations. Isaac ha-Levi b. Eleazar, who lived in the same century at Bagdad, wrote a work under the title "Sefat Yeter," for which the works of Ḥayyuj together with the "Supplementer" of Abu al-Walid were used. Grammar was studied in the thirteenth century in Germany also. The "naḳdanim" (punctuators), prominent among whom are Samson and Jekuthiel (called also Solomon), wrote grammatical text-books, in which also the Spanish authorities were quoted. Mordecai b. Hillel, the halakist, wrote two Masoretico-grammatical didactic poems, in which he mentions the rules ("hilkot sefarad") formulated by Ḥayyuj.

To the beginning of the fourteenth century belongs a grammatical treatise intended to serve as an introduction to the larger grammatical manuals. This "Introduction" ("Haḳdamah"), which was afterward frequently printed together with Moses Ḳimḥi's grammar, was written by Benjamin b. Judahof Rome, who also wrote a complete summary of Hebrew grammar under the title "Mebo ha-Diḳduḳ." Another Roman of the same time, the poet Immanuel b. Solomon, discussed, like Menahem b. Solomon's work of the same title mentioned above, grammatical subjects in his "Eben Boḥan" a handbook of Biblical hermeneutics. In the first third of the fourteenth century the prolific Joseph ibn Caspi of Provence wrote a synopsis of logic as a guide to correct speaking, as well as a grammar; he censured philologists who preceded him for neglecting logic. Solomon b. Abba Mari Yarḥi of Lunel wrote a grammar under the title "Leshon Limmudim," in which for the first time there appeared, with exception of the "po'el," the seven verbal-stems (conjugations) which later came into general use. Samuel Benveniste is mentioned as an "excellent grammarian" of the fourteenth century, although the name of the work in which he attacked David Ḳimḥi is not known. The summary in Arabic of the theories of punctuation and accentuation which is extant in Yemen manuscripts, and of which the material is taken from grammatical works, probably dates also from the fourteenth century, as does another, larger, work of this kind in Hebrew, a "handbook for the Bible reader" ("manuel du lecteur"), as it was called by its editor, J. Derenbourg.

At the beginning of the fifteenth century (1403) Profiat Duran wrote his grammar, "Ma'aseh Efod," in which an attempt is made to carry out Joseph Caspi's idea of basing the study of language on logic. He also undertakes to refute the erroneous opinions of later grammarians, especially those of David Ḳimḥi. Duran's grammar influenced David ibn Yaḥya's grammar, "Leshon Limmudim," written toward the end of the century at Lisbon, and which is remarkable for its adequate and methodical arrangement of the material. Duran also influenced Moses b. Shem-Ṭob ibn Ḥabib, who had gone to southern Italy from Portugal before 1488, and who wrote a larger grammar, "Peraḥ Shoshan," besides a smaller text-book on language, in the form of a catechism, entitled "Marpe Lashon." In 1517 Elisha b. Abraham of Constantinople wrote his grammatical work, "Magen Dawid," in defense of David Ḳimḥi against Duran and David ibn Yaḥya. Mention must be made of two other grammatical manuals of the fifteenth century, written by Italian scholars, and extant only in manuscript; namely, Joseph Sarco's "Rab Pe'alim," and the large work "Libnat ha-Sappir," by Judah b. Jehiel (Messer Leon), the author of the Biblical rhetoric "Nofet Ẓufim."

The Reformation marks a great change in the history of Hebrew grammar. The study of the holy language became a part of Christian scholarship and, because of the return to Scripture demanded by the Reformation, an important factor in the religious movement by which Germany was the first to be affected and transformed. The transfer of the leadership in the field of Hebrew grammar from the Jews to the Christians is in a way personified in Elijah Levita (1469-1549), of whom Sebastian Münster, one of the most prominent of the Christian Hebraists, writes in 1546: "Whoever possesses to-day solid knowledge of Hebrew owes it to Elijah's work or to the sources proceeding from it." Levita's text-book on grammar, called "Sefer ha-Baḥur" after Levita's cognomen, is confined to the theory of the noun and the verb, while he treats the theory of vowels and other special grammatical subjects in four partly metrical treatises entitled "Pirḳe Eliyahu." He also wrote a commentary to Moses Ḳimḥi's brief grammar, which through him became one of the most popular manuals. Levita's works were especially useful in the schoolroom, as he avoided on principle all abstract discussions of grammatical categories, on the ground that he was "a grammarian and not a philosopher." Five years after Levita's grammar had appeared at Rome there was published in Venice (1523) the work "Miḳne Abram," by Abraham Balmes, the last independent work of this period based on thorough knowledge and criticism of its predecessors. Balmes' presentation of grammatical questions may in a certain sense be designated as historico-critical. He attempts to apply the methods and terms of Latin grammar to Hebrew, and adds to phonetics and morphology a treatise on syntax, for which he coins the Hebrew name "harkabah." The book was, however, very complex and clumsy, and its terminology difficult to understand; and although it was issued at the same time in a Latin translation, it did not have much influence on the early Hebrew studies of the Christians.

The great humanist, Johann Reuchlin, "is honored by history as the father of Hebrew philology among the Christians" (Gesenius). His "Rudimenta Linguæ, Hebraicæ," published in 1506, was the first successful work of its kind written by a Christian to introduce Christians to the Hebrew language, the attempt made by Conrad Pellican two years previously having been entirely inadequate. Reuchlin, who honored as his teachers two Jewish scholars, Jacob Jehiel Loans and Obadiah Sforno, took the material for his work from David Ḳimḥi's "Miklol"; and for a long time thereafter Christian writers on Hebrew grammar owed their knowledge to Jewish teachers and Jewish works. The works of Christians, even in early times, differed from the works of Jewish authors only in the Latinized terminology (introduced in part by Reuchlin) and in the method of presentation.

It is not the object of this article to describe the development of Hebrew grammar and the related literature which has been produced by Christian scholars during the last four centuries; but the list which follows after a short notice of the principal works of this period, and which includes the titles of nearly 400 Hebrew grammars, many of which have passed through a number of editions, will give an idea of the extent of this literature, and hence of the great importance of the study of Hebrew philology in the non-Jewish world.

Of greatest importance in the sixteenth century were the works of Sebastian Münster ("Epitome Hebr. Gram." 1520; "Institutiones Grammaticæ," 1524), who, following Elijah Levita, perfected the science of Hebrew grammar as regards both its material and its methods of presentation. In the seventeenthcentury the grammar of the elder Buxtorf, "Præcepta Gram. Hebr." (1605), enjoyed a high reputation. W. Schickard's "Horologium Hebr." (1623), on account of its brevity and pleasing arrangement, passed through even a greater number of editions. The grammar by Glass ("Instit. Gram. Hebr.") was distinguished by its treatment of syntax. In Holland, Alting's "Fundamenta Punctationis" (1654) was the favorite work after the middle of theseventeenth century. Opitz's manual. "Atrium Linguæ Sanctæ" (1674), although based entirely on Wasmuth's "Hebraismus Restitutus" (1666), passed through many editions in the course of an entire century. A great influence was exerted by Danz, who, in addition to his "Compendium" (1699), wrote various treatises in which he carried out a system of vowel-mutation of his own. In the eighteenth century Schultens wrote his epoch-making "Institutiones" (1737), in which he put the treatment of grammar on a new basis and introduced the comparison of kindred languages, especially Arabic. He was succeeded by Schröder, whose grammar, "Institutiones ad Fund. Ling. Hebr." (1766), was much used. Vater, in his "Hebr. Sprachlehre" (1797), prefixed "philological introductions" to the main divisions of the grammar.

The greatest advance since the beginning of this period was made by the grammar of W. Gesenius (1813), which became the most popular and useful manual of Hebrew philology of the nineteenth century, and was several times translated (since 1874 ed. by Kautzsch). The new method of studying language as an organism, introduced at the beginning of the century, was applied by Ewald to Hebrew grammar, his "Kritische Grammatik" (1827) and "Grammatik der Hebr. Sprache" (1829) enjoying with the work of Gesenius the greatest popularity. Olshausen, in his "Lehrbuch der Hebr. Sprache" (1861), treated Hebrew grammar throughout with reference to Arabic. Böttcher's manual, "Ausführliches Lehrbuch der Hebr. Sprache" (1866), is distinguished by thorough and detailed treatment, as are also more recently König's "Lehrgebäude" and "Historisch-Comparative Syntax" (1881-95, 1897). Stade's "Lehrbuch" (1879) has not been completed. Strack's grammar (1883) is very popular on account of its brevity and superior critical method.

The lion's share in the subjoined list belongs to Germany, where after the Reformation Hebrew philology received an unusual degree of attention, especially as an integral part of the science of theology; and where in modern times it has been given its proper place also in general philology, so that Germany still retains the leadership in this branch of science. The first Hebrew grammars written in languages other than Latin appeared at the end of the sixteenth century; namely, one in Italian by Franchi, a converted Jew, "Sole della Lingua Sancta" (1591), and one in English by Udall, "The Key of the Holy Tongue" (1593). A Hebrew grammar in German, "Teutsche Dikduk" (1613), was written by Josephus, a converted Jew. But far into the eighteenth century Latin remained the principal language of these manuals, primarily designed to assist the learned in their studies.

The following is a chronological list of manuals of Hebrew grammar written by Christians from the beginning of the sixteenth to the beginning of the twentieth century. It is based chiefly on Steinschneider's "Bibliographisches Handbuch" (Leipsic, 1859), with corrections and additions both by him ("Centralblatt für Bibliothekswesen" 1896, xiii. 345-379, 441-489) and by Porges (ib. 1898, xv. 493-508, 566-578). For the period covering the last fifty years it was necessary to seek the titles elsewhere, and the list does not pretend to completeness. The date first given is that of the first publication of the book; dates of later editions are given in parentheses. Authors who were baptized Jews are indicated by an asterisk.

A period of neglect of letters among the Jews of Europe followed the death of Levita. It lasted for two centuries, and manifested itself in the exclusive study of the Talmud and the Cabala, and in the neglect of the rational study of the Bible and consequently of the cognate grammatical studies. No attention was paid to the ancient classics of Hebrew philology; and the very scant output along philological lines contained not a single prominent work. Among the thirty-six works which were produced from the middle of the sixteenth century to the middle of the eighteenth century those of Solomon Hanau are probably the most important.

Mendelssohn's exposition of the Bible gave a new impulse to the study of Hebrew grammar. The most prominent in that department was Ben-Ze'eb, whose grammatical works rendered valuable services to the East-European Jews during the first half of the nineteenth century. Besides Ben-Ze'eb, Shalom Kohn advanced the study of Hebrew grammar by his grammatical work, written in German, but printed with Hebrew letters. The new scienceof Judaism inaugurated by the labors of Zunz and Rapoport included a thorough study of the older grammarians, but it has produced no independent work that could be placed favorably by the side of the presentations of Hebrew grammar by Christian scholars. Nevertheless Samuel David Luzzatto's works deserve especial mention; and of more recent writers Jacob Barth has published the most important contributions to this science.

Up to the middle of the eighteenth century the language of the text-books was chiefly Hebrew; but as early as 1633—manifestly out of regard to the Portuguese Maranos, who had returned to their old faith—the Portuguese language came into use and was followed by the Spanish. The first German grammar with Hebrew characters appeared in 1710, and was soon succeeded by others. In 1735 the first text-book in English appeared; in 1741 the first in Dutch; and in 1751 that in Italian. Beginning with the Mendelssohnian period, text-books written in languages other than Hebrew began to predominate.

The following is a chronological list of Hebrew text-books on Hebrew grammar written by Jews from the middle of the sixteenth to the beginning of the twentieth century:

The grammar of Neo-Hebrew, as found in the Mishnah and cognate works, has been treated by the Jewish scholars Dukes, Geiger, and J. H. Weiss. The text-book of Siegfried has been mentioned above in the first list.

The Aramaic of the books of Daniel and Ezra was not grammatically treated during the exclusively Jewish period of Hebrew philology. Some Christian grammarians at an early period treated this so-called Chaldee in connection with the Hebrew. Among the Aramaic works of more recent times are the following:

The above-named Aramaic grammars partly include also the Targumic dialect. A larger field of Jewish-Aramaic literature is comprised in the work by G. Dalman, "Grammatik des Jüdisch-Palästinensischen Aramäisch" (Leipsic, 1894). After the compendium of Luzzatto, the Aramaic dialect of the Babylonian Talmud was first treated systematically from the point of view of grammar in C. Levias' "A Grammar of the Aramaic Idiom Contained in the Babylonian Talmud" (in "Am. Jour. Semit. Lang." xiii., xiv.; reprinted separately, Chicago, 1899). See Aramaic Language Among the Jews.